US Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Climate, Federal Law Cases

Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court was confirmed by the Senate on this day in 2018. Hungry for more information about the 2026-27 term? On Thursday, Pacific Legal Foundation is hosting a virtual term preview event, with SCOTUSblog’s Zach Shemtob as one of the panelists. Register here to watch the event, which will begin at noon EDT. On Monday, the justices heard oral argument in two cases: Suncor Energy Inc. v. County Commissioners of Boulder County , on whether a lawsuit filed in Colorado state court seeking to hold energy companies responsible for their alleged role in climate change can go forward , or whether federal law instead bars such claims; and Johnson v. United States Congress , on whether a federal district court may hear a constitutional challenge to a law limiting disability benefits for certain incarcerated veterans. Also on Monday, the court denied review in hundreds of cases that had been considered by the justices at their “ long conference ” on Sept. 28, including a high-profile dispute over whether schools may bar students from wearing sweatshirts printed with the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon,” a clash over the Second Amendment rights of convicted felons, and two battles over COVID-19 vaccine mandates. For more on Monday’s lengthy order list , see the On Site section below. Today, the justices will hear argument in Anderson v. Intel Corporation Investment Policy Committee , a dispute under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act on how to handle claims that employers have invested employees’ retirement funds imprudently. Tomorrow, the justices will hear argument in Department of the Air Force v. Prutehi Guåhan , a technical dispute over the interaction between two federal environmental laws that arose when the U.S. Air Force applied to renew its permit to dispose of munitions on a beach in northern Guam. On Sept. 28, the Trump administration brought a dispute over the Federal Bureau of Prison’s policy on healthcare and accommodations for transgender inmates to the interim docket. The court has asked the challengers to respond to this request by 4 p.m. EDT on Thursday. Kelsey Dallas is SCOTUSblog's managing editor and the primary author of the SCOTUStoday newsletter. Blake Fox is an intern for SCOTUSblog. Recommended Citation: Kelsey Dallas & Blake Fox , The term’s first arguments , SCOTUSblog ( Oct. 6, 2026, 9:00 AM ), https://www.scotusblog.com /2026/10/the-terms-first-arguments/